This past Saturday was my birthday and my family (John and my folks) and I had a deal.

We’ve reached the point in life that we have pretty much every toy we want so we have given up the burden of finding the perfect birthday gift. We live comfortably (and modestly) but we have the means to enjoy ourselves occasionally, so we have all agreed that birthdays would be about enjoying ourselves and each other’s company.

That being said…I was surprised this weekend with a rather extravagant celebration. I was told on Saturday that we would be enjoying brunch on Sunday at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort’s La Coquina.

La Coquina is the restaurant that wins the Best Brunch award in the Orlando Sentinel’s yearly restaurant awards. It has quite the reputation as being truly fantastic. It also has the reputation for being pricey. I would say both are accurate.

Our brunch reservation was for 11:30am and there would be 6 of us. My brother and his wife would be joining us. We are a pretty casual bunch of folks and the dress code states “no shorts”. It’s a tough crowd to get into slacks, but we did.

We arrived at the restaurant and were given a tour of the brunch buffet. The buffet is set up almost entirely in the kitchen and consists of several different tables of the most wonderful and delectable foods. There are also several hot entrees that are made to order, as well as omelettes and a waffle station.

We are not talking about your average brunch buffet. There were three kinds of caviar, 8 kinds of sushi, a raw bar, a seafood bar with barbecued scallops and shrimp. There were several kinds of pasta, an assortment of 12 cheeses with accompanying fresh fruit, pastries, breads cookies, sticky buns and on and on and on.

The hot entrees were buffalo, lamb, roast beef, three kinds of fresh fish, eggs benedict and anything you could decribe to the chef. My mother asked if there any sort of breakfast potatoes and while they weren’t on the menu, they were created on the spot.

All the fresh squeezed OJ, champagne, cofffee, tea and soft drinks were refilled within seconds and included in the price.

The dessert buffet looked like an art gallery. Each and every item looked too beautiful to disturb. The amazing thing is that they tasted as good as they looked. Thats unusual. Usually, if they are that pretty, all of the effort went into looks.

The setting for this feast is a large room, two sides of which are floor to ceiling windows overlooking the resort’s gardens. All during brunch, a pianist played softly, wihout taking a break.

The cost of this wonderous event is $61.95 per person. I realize that is an enormous price tag, but it is worth every penny.

The Podcast Crew is often asked if there is a place to celebrate a special event. I’m of the opinion that this is wonderful choice that will impress just about anyone.

It’s an extravagance that I think will live up to your expectations.

The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress is located adjacent to Disney property and just off Hotel Plaza Blvd.

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http://www.wdwinfo.com WebmasterRegina

It’s been years since we’ve been to a truly outstanding brunch. This sounds perfect and honestly, for what you described plus free-flowing champagne, I think it’s priced right. I’ll definitely suggest it to Gary for our next trip down.

http://www.tonya2426.blogspot.com Tonya2426

Glad you have a wonderful birthday, Kevin!!!

For an extravagant brunch which includes champagne, $65 isn’t that bad. I paid $59 for a similar brunch at a San Francisco hotel about 10 years ago and it was worth every penny – I’m still talking about it.

http://podcast.wdwinfo.com Kevin Klose

I corrected the price to $61.95 per person.

I apologize for the error.

Kevin

http://podcast.wdwinfo.com John Magi

I ate my weight in caviar – I am pretty sure they re-thinking their pricing structure after we left.

ihearttink04

Awesome post but I wish you took pictures!

I would love to see the desserts.

mommyceratops

No wonder I wasn’t invited?! hahaha

That sounds perfect! I am glad you had a great birthday. I will have to try that out sometime (when my kids are older)

That is nice for the fam to get out of shirts to honor you!

ragtopday

Happy Birthday Kevin – we share a birthday! The brunch sounds divine – dessert as art that tastes good sounds right up my alley!

LilGMom

Happy Birthday! (a little belated, but better late than never)

The brunch sounds amazing and what a wonderful treat.

Madi100

Sounds like a great birthday!

jamieT

Happy Birthday Kevin! You are a hoot, the nice spread was well deserved considering what you put your palate through for our knowledge and amusement

kab407

Thank you for the report Kevin. It sounds wonderful. Am I correct in guessing there was no chicken served with the waffles here?!?!?!?

dpuck1998

WHAT!! NO FOOD PORN!!

cocowum

I’m glad you enjoyed your Birthday weekend! Sounds wonderful.

UrsulasShadow

Oh, great. The day I sign on to the Podcast Cruise Weight Loss thread, THIS gets posted! I’m hungry just reading it.

Cyrano

I guess I wasn’t the only one who was licking their lips at this description.
Glad you had a lovely birthday brunch

http://www.justagirl.org/ slygirl

Every time I hear of a restaurant that does the “we will cook you anything you want”, I think of this scene from The Simpsons:

“And bring us the finest food you’ve got, stuffed with the second finest.”

“Excellent, sir. Lobster stuffed with tacos.”

Happy belated birthday, Kevin!

safetymom

I will have to remember that when we want to celebrate something special.

aGoofyMom

That sounds incredible. I think DH needs to read this so he can NOTE it… : )